E2E Tests workflow (piskelapp/piskel)

The E2E Tests workflow from piskelapp/piskel, explained and optimized by Latchkey.

What it does

This is the E2E Tests workflow from the piskelapp/piskel repository, a real project running GitHub Actions. It is shown here with attribution under its Apache-2.0 license.

Below, Latchkey shows a faster, safer version produced by its optimization engine.

The workflow

name: E2E Tests

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      os:
        description: 'OS to run on (leave empty for both)'
        required: false
        type: choice
        options:
          - all
          - ubuntu-latest
          - macos-latest
        default: 'all'
  push:
    branches:
      - master
  pull_request:
    branches:
      - master

jobs:
  lint:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npx biome ci src/

  e2e:
    needs: lint
    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
    strategy:
      matrix:
        os: ${{ github.event.inputs.os == 'all' && fromJson('["ubuntu-latest","macos-latest"]') || github.event.inputs.os && fromJson(format('["{0}"]', github.event.inputs.os)) || fromJson('["ubuntu-latest","macos-latest"]') }}
    timeout-minutes: 60
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npx playwright install --with-deps
      - run: npm run test-ci

The same workflow, on Latchkey

Estimated ~20% faster on cache hits, plus fewer wasted runs and a safer supply chain. Added and changed lines are highlighted.

name: E2E Tests
 
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      os:
        description: 'OS to run on (leave empty for both)'
        required: false
        type: choice
        options:
          - all
          - ubuntu-latest
          - macos-latest
        default: 'all'
  push:
    branches:
      - master
  pull_request:
    branches:
      - master
 
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true
 
jobs:
  lint:
    timeout-minutes: 30
    runs-on: latchkey-small
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          cache: 'npm'
          node-version: '20'
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npx biome ci src/
 
  e2e:
    needs: lint
    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
    strategy:
      matrix:
        os: ${{ github.event.inputs.os == 'all' && fromJson('["ubuntu-latest","macos-latest"]') || github.event.inputs.os && fromJson(format('["{0}"]', github.event.inputs.os)) || fromJson('["ubuntu-latest","macos-latest"]') }}
    timeout-minutes: 60
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          cache: 'npm'
          node-version: '20'
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npx playwright install --with-deps
      - run: npm run test-ci

What changed

• Run on Latchkey managed runners with one line (runs-on), which apply the fixes below automatically and self-heal transient failures. This example uses latchkey-small; pick the runner size that fits the job.
• Cancel superseded runs when a branch or PR gets a newer push.
• Cache dependency installs on the setup step so they are served from cache.
• Add a job timeout so a hung step cannot burn hours of runner time.

What Latchkey heals here

This workflow has steps that commonly fail on transient issues (network, registries, flaky browsers). On Latchkey managed runners they are detected, retried, and self-healed instead of failing your build:

• Dependency installs
• End-to-end and browser tests

This workflow runs 2 jobs per trigger. On Latchkey the same minutes cost up to 58% less than GitHub-hosted, with zero queue time.

Actions used in this workflow